The Dragon
by Jardyn39
Part Three of "The Apprentice Piece"
Chapter 7: Warning
Over the next few nights, the noises from the forest grew louder and closer. By now many people in the castle and in the refugee camp had heard the noises and were becoming nervous.
Harry realised that this was precisely the point. Voldemort wanted people scared. Too scared to be rational.
Several rumours started to go around the school about villagers and refugees going missing after taking walks after dark. It appeared there was some truth in these rumours, however, as curfews were introduced in both Hogsmeade and the camp.
*
Just as Harry was about to enter the Great Hall for breakfast, he heard his name being called.
"Harry!"
He turned to see a grinning Kingsley Shacklebolt walking up to him. They shook hands and Kingsley indicated he needed a word. They walked just outside and took refuge from the rain in under the canopy above the entrance doors.
"I'm sure you've heard about the curfew, Harry," said Kingsley, constantly looking around. Harry nodded.
"Well people have been going missing. We think they just strayed upon something going on in the forest."
"We heard rumours," said Harry.
"What I wanted to tell you is that we're expecting something to happen. We don't know what yet, but it'll be some kind of attack."
"We'll be ready."
"No, Harry," Kingsley said seriously. "Think about this. It is highly likely that You-Know-Who will try to use you to distract Dumbledore. He's got enough to worry about. I don't want you falling into a trap. You need to be aware that You-Know-Who will try to provoke you into doing something. Please don't take the bait, whatever it is."
"You know I can't agree to that."
"I know, neither would I," he said with a small smile. "Just be aware that what ever happens is likely to be planned to make you act in a particular way. Use that knowledge of how he expects you to behave to your advantage."
*
When Harry sat down to breakfast a few minutes later, he was already changing his DA Galleon. There would be a meeting tonight. He noticed an audible increase in the volume of murmuring around the after he'd set the time and date on his Galleon.
*
At eight o'clock that evening, Harry walked into the Room of Requirement followed by Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna. Harry had arranged to meet with them a little earlier so they knew what he was going to tell the meeting.
Harry looked around and smiled at the large group of people gathered. The DA had grown in size considerably this year, mainly due to the enthusiastic recruiting of the Rebel Quidditch squad.
Stepping onto the dais that had appeared at the front, Harry addressed the group.
"Thanks for coming," he said, realising he wasn't at all nervous about addressing or commanding such a large group. "I wanted to warn you about a couple of things. The first concerns the recent activities in the forest. I can confirm that something is going on in there and people have been disappearing. We think that Voldemort is gathering followers inside the forest anyone who gets too close is being caught. We don't know what creatures are in there yet, but the chances are they will be dangerous and be there for a purpose."
Harry paused, pleased that he got less of a reaction from DA members when he spoke Voldemort's name these days.
"We need to organise ourselves into groups when we're moving around the grounds. Remember, we need to look out for other students, especially the younger ones, not just ourselves."
"Will we be patrolling the grounds?" asked a Third year.
"No, it's too dangerous at night," replied Harry, "and the teachers have that covered during the day. We'll leave night patrols to the Aurors."
"The second thing is that we are advised that the Aurors are expecting some form of attack. It could be against the camp, Hogsmeade, here or all three. We don't know."
Harry waited for the murmuring to die down.
"There are, however, a couple of things we can be fairly sure of. On Saturday there will be a Quidditch match. We understand that many people from the camp and the Ministry will be attending. It seems to me that it would be an ideal time to launch an attack."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"The other thing is the motive behind the attack. It's a good bet that Voldemort will try to provoke me again. As well as causing chaos and mayhem, he'll want to get me to act in a particular way. I have to tell you that my record in this regard isn't very good. He has consistently tricked me into doing something he wanted all along. The consequences of that have been very serious in the past. I can't promise not to fall into the same trap again but you need to be aware that this might happen."
Harry paused, looking around.
"Basically, I think Voldemort will do something. He'll probably take someone as hostage and use them as bait to get me. He'll use me to get to Dumbledore. That must not happen this time. Too many people will need his protection."
There were many shocked faces in the group now.
"You-Know-Who is supposed to be afraid of Dumbledore," said someone.
"Voldemort is afraid of Dumbledore, and rightly so," said Harry. "But, Dumbledore is not invulnerable. I wish he were. He's just a bit stretched right now."
"So what are we going to do?"
"We have a plan that assumes there will be an attack on the school during the Quidditch match. It's a pity that I'll be playing but at least we'll have a good view of any trouble. I am going to propose that we divide into groups that will patrol the stadium before the game and the station themselves around the pitch during the actual game."
"I hope nothing happens, but if it does we'll be ready to face it and help. If nothing does happen it'll be good practice. For the rest of the meeting I'd like to go through how we are going to be organised and co-ordinate. Any suggestions and criticisms gratefully received."